Although we have family in Franconia, it is not always possible to spend the night at a sibling’s place. Once in a while we have to rent a room or an apartment. For our last trip there, we decided to rent a vacation apartment in my hometown village Hambach (population: 2700), a borough of Dittelbrunn.

Zum Hühnernest, a former chicken farm, has been turned into a big family business. The owners’ grown up children have expanded its lines of service by adding accommodations (rooms and apartment), a guesthouse, a cosmetic studio, a nail studio, horseback riding, horse-drawn carriage rides, horseback riding camps, farm animals, a farmer’s market, etc.

We checked in on Saturday afternoon and found a very spacious apartment and comfortable beds to keep us warm at night.

Pension "Zum Hühnernest" in Hambach/borough of Dittelbrunn

But… when we came back late at night, we found the guesthouse totally locked up. We had forgotten to ask how to get in during after-hours.

It took about 10 minutes and a bit of slow panic crept in, before my husband located a door by going around the place on three sides, entering a former chicken coop, climbing an outdoor stairway, to reach a veranda door leading to the inside of the building.

My goodness, we made it in! With relief, we settled down for a good night’s sleep.

Pension "Zum Hühnernest"

Visit the Gasthaus und Pension Zum Hühnernest for more information. Recommendable, besides the key episode!